1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to handling pipe used in drilling or equipping oil wells, or the like, and more particularly to an apparatus for receiving pipe removed from a derrick or drilling rig and horizontally disposed longitudinally in a work path to be horizontally deposited on a pipe rack, or the like, laterally of the work path.
One of the problems associated with oil well operations is moving the pipe to an out-of-the-way racked position, usually adjacent the earth's surface, after the pipe has been removed from the well and rig and horizontally disposed so that the next joint of pipe may be laid down. Utilizing pipe pickup and laydown apparatus for depositing laid-down pipe on a rack at or near the surface of the earth is a time consuming and expensive operation.
The apparatus of this invention forms a portable pipe stand, elevated above the earth's surface, which will successively receive horizontally disposed joints of pipe when deposited thereon and transfer the pipe laterally to a pipe rack at a lower elevation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior patents, such as the Beck U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,713,547 and 3,825,129, generally disclose apparatus for moving joints or stands of pipe from a vertically disposed position in a derrick to a horizontally disposed position laterally of the derrick, usually on the catwalk. These and other patents, for the most part, do not disclose apparatus for transferring the pipe from a horizontal laid-down position to a remote racked position laterally of the work path occupied by the pipe while being moved from the vertical to a horizontal position.
This invention accomplishes this by providing a pair of open framework type stands which successively receive joints of the pipe horizontally deposited thereon and transfers the pipe while horizontally disposed to a lower elevation laterally of the work path.